Needle-cylinder mechanism.



H. A. HOUSEMAN.

NEEDLE CYLINDER MEGHANISM. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE21,1913.

1,1 12,907. Patented oct. 6, 1914.

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W/r/vEssEs.- y 1 HARRY A. HoUsnMAN," `or PrIInAnnLPHIa PENNSYLVANIA.

To all whom #may concern? A `Be it known that I, HARRY A. HoUsnMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful In'lprovement "in Needle-Cylin* i der Mechanism, of which thejfollowing is a full, clear, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawingsf which form a part of this specification.

ln patents heretofore issued to me, as, for example, in Patent No. 903,190, dated November l0, 1908, I have shown and described a needle cylinder having" slots therein for thereception of the needles, .combined with pivoted levers having jaws adapted` to hold the shanks of the`needles,`the needles being umoved into and out `of operative relation with the cam cylinder by swinging the levers on their pivots. lVhile this construction is oprative under ordinary conditions, certain diiiiculties have arisen in placing the needles in proper engagement with their actuating levers. These actuating levers are pivoted direct-ly below their respective needles, and while they are of limited thickness,

`any needle which is insertedin its slot from y above will, when pushed down to the proper level,` extend between thejaws of the lever provided the lever is inprecisely its` norma position. If, however, theneedle levers become slightly loose in theirpivot and thereforerock slightly thereon inthe direction of their axes, or `if they `become slightly bent, the needle engaging ends thereof are apt to be slightly displaced in a circum-` ferential direction so that they no longer maintain the necessary precise alinement with the needles. Consequently, when a' `needle is inserted in the needle cylinder, the lower end thereof may engage one side of aigus -Arnivr y PnNIvsrLvANIanssIeNonfro STANDARD y MAoI-Invn` coi/Irrtum orl PHILADELPHIA, PENnsYLvANIA, `A.. oonronnrrolv or `1 `Speeication of Letters Patent. Apeiieanon filed Juneei, 191s.

`movement on their axis toenablethem to FFIGE- y NEEDLE-CYLINDER; einennivisivr.`

serial 110.774,961. j

move their respective needlesinto and out `of operative relationwith the cam cylinder.

The invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings,"which showa preferred embodiment of Inyinvention, and in whichi y i `Figure lis a vertical section through the knitting head `showing two needle `levers en- Iatented Oct. 6, y

gaged with the guide ring andwith two needles on opposite sides of the needle cylinder. Fig. 2 1s an inverted plan view of the needle-lever holdingring. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side view, partly broken awayL a is the needle `cylinder in which are formed radial slots Z) extending from the inner periphery outward. The needle cyl-` inder is supportedon the spider m extending up from the bed plate n. In the slots Z1 are inserted the needles 0 havingbutts i adapted to engage thecams ff of the cam cylinder f. A curved rod g, extending concen-` tric with the knitting head, extends around that portion of the same `provided with needle levers. The needle levers (Z are pivoted on the rod g. The jaws e of the levers CZ hold theshanks of the needles c. needles are moved into and out of engage` inent with the cam cylinder by swinging the The needle levers el on the rod `g. Thisconstruc-` tion is substantially the same as that `set forth in my said Patent No."903,190.

Formed on the upper "ends ofthe needle levers are outwardly projecting shoulders i adapted for engagement with a ring i. This ring is provided, on its under face, with` radial grooves y' extending from itsinner periphery outward toward, but terminating short" of, its outer periphery, thedepth o f the grooves diminishing in an outward d1- rection. The grooves correspond in `nurn-` ber and arrangement `withtheneedle levers and are of a widthadapted to receivethe shoulders 71, and allow theshoulders to play radially therein without permitting them to have any substantial amount of side motion.

To apply the ring,the same is placed over the needle levers in a concentric position relative to the center of the knitting head and in such position that the grooves y' aline with the needlelevers cl and is then pressed down `until all the needle levers engage their respective grooves. No other sup-` port thanthe needlelevers themselvesneed be provided for the ring. `The spider m is cut away to permitv the ring z' to be placed in position, the out laway part of the `spider enabling the ring to be properly centered.

When the ring is so applied, it is impossible for the needle levers to move sidewise, although free radial movement is permitted, as may be seen by reference to the opposite sides of Fig. l. The right hand part of the ligure shows a needle lever moved into position to cause the corresponding needle to engage the cam cylinder, the shoulder of the needle lever extending only into the inner partof the corresponding groove of the ring. At the left hand side for' the figure, the needle lever has swung on its pivot into position to withdraw the corresponding needle from engagement with the cam cylinder, the shoulder of the needle having Vswung` toward theouter portion of the groove.

InFig. 3 the ring has been broken away so that no guide is afforded to prevent the needle lever from swinging laterally. lneedle is shown as having` been inserted in position and as having engaged the side of a needle lever y, with-the result of forcing the needle lever to one side so that its jaws fail to engage the needle. This defective condition cannot occur with the use of the ring, inasmuch as the ring` not only correctly positions the needle lever for engagement with its corresponding needle, but absolutely prevents any lateral displacement of the lever by the'needle.

While I have designated the device i as a ring, it will be understood that it need not necessarily completely encircle the knitting head, as it need be only of sufficient length to engage all the needle levers, which may be provided for only a portion of the needles,

Irlaving` now fully described vmy invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. In a circular knitting machine, in com- Copies of this patent may be obtained for bination, a. needle cylinder, independent needles carried thereby, pivoted levers arranged under and adapted to engage the needles and move them into andout of operative position, said. levers having outwardly extending shoulders, and a. ring the inner part of which is adapted to rest loosely upon said shoulders and which is provided in its under and inner faces with grooves correspendingl to the shoulders and into which the shoulders extend and are guided when the ring is in the position speeied.

2. In a circular knitting machine, incombination, a needle cylinder, independent needles carried thereby, pivoted' levers, thin relatively to their llength and breadth, arranged under and adapted to engage the needles and move them into and out oi' operative position, said levers having at their upper needle-engaging ends outwardly eX- tending` shoulders, and a ring surrounding the needle levers having grooves, correspending to the needle levers, adapted to re* ceive and guide said shoulders.

3. A needle lever adapted to'move the needles of an independent needle circular knitting machine into and out of operative position, the same comprising. an L-shaped pivotable member thin relatively to its length and breadth., one arm of which has a pair of jaws adapted for engagement with the needle, and a shoulder yprojecting' from one edge of the jaw-end of the arm in the plane of the extension of the lever whereby the lever may be guided in its pivotal movement.

In testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my'hand, at Philadelphia, on.

this 20th day of June, 1913. f

' HARRY A, HOUSEMAN.

Witnessesv CHAs. L. C. SCHONEMAN,

JACOB BANEY.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner ofatents'.V Washington, D. C. 

